Diesel engines are widely used in a huge array of applications. Generally, diesel engines are classified as being either stationary or mobile. Stationary diesel engines include those used to generate power or compress air and other fluids. Hotels, casinos, and hospitals use large stationary diesel engines to generate power in the event of a power grid failure. Large industrial compressors are used in applications like construction, excavation and mining, or in mechanized assembly lines. Mobile diesel engines are even more ubiquitous. Mobile diesel engines can be found in: personal automobiles, commercial shipping trucks, aircraft, marine vessels (personal boats, commercial ships, tankers, tug boats, etc.), and locomotive engines used in rail transport. It is likely that an average person is affected, at least tangentially, by a diesel engine several times in any given day.
Diesel engines are extremely powerful, but they are also extremely dirty. Diesel engines run on diesel fuel, and diesel fuel emits a range of pollutants when it burns. Diesel fumes generally contain: carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), methane, and hydrocarbon particulates, among other pollutants. These gases and particulates are created as the diesel fuel burns, and are then expelled from the diesel engine as exhaust. Diesel exhaust is particularly problematic in that all the various gases contained therein cause an increase in the atmosphere's ability to trap infrared energy. This eventually creates holes in the ozone layer of the atmosphere and negatively effects global climates.
Diesel fumes cause another environmental problem called smog. Smog is a thick layer of pollution that can blanket entire geographical regions depending on the climate and weather patterns. Smog limits visibility (even on a clear day) and is very harmful if inhaled. When pollution is trapped in the atmosphere as described, it can also cause acid rain. Acid rain occurs when harmful pollutants dissolve into water droplets before they fall to the earth as rain. The resulting rain drops have a high pH level, which is why they are known as ‘acid rain’. Acid rain damages crops and landscaping, and can even cause the paint on buildings, signs and cars to blister and peel. It has only been within the last few decades that the eye-opening effects of diesel engine fumes have been studied. Because of the detrimental nature of the pollution created by diesel engines, the government has stepped in to regulate the sources of diesel pollution.
The main governmental arm that deals with environmental regulations is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The main function of the EPA is to write and enforce regulations based on the laws passed by Congress dealing with the environment. In the face of the environmental damage caused by diesel engine pollution, the EPA has enforced a whole host of regulations in an attempt to limit these harmful effects. The EPA currently regulates oil refinement, vehicle manufacturing, car sales across state borders, fuel sales, and almost every other aspect of fuel production and use. The EPA specifically regulates engine fuel systems and how much pollution any given engine can emit. With each passing year, these regulations become more and more strict. It is usually up to engine manufacturers to figure out how to stay in compliance with these emissions regulations. If the regulations are not met, engine manufacturers and users may be sanctioned.
One of the most logistically problematic areas of most EPA regulation schemes in this area is in monitoring engine emissions. For example, locomotive engines found in freight trains produce several thousand horsepower. Often, these engines are daisy-chained together in order to move tons of freight across the country. These engine use a large amount of fuel on initial start-up, so when they are awaiting assignment to the proper cargo, they are often left idling in train yards across the country. The EPA currently has regulations that seek to control the emissions of an idling locomotive, but these regulations simply state that an idling locomotive can emit no more than a given amount of particulates, CO2, etc. per hour. No two engines, even of the same type, pollute at the same rate. Thus, train yards seeking to follow EPA regulations generally do not know which engines are the worst offenders and need to be shut off. As a result, a train yard operator may be forced to turn off every idling engine every 15 minutes or so in an attempt to ensure that the restricted level of emissions is not reached. But later, when the engine is turned on again, it uses more fuel on startup than it would have used had it been left idling. This means that the train yard is losing money. On the other side of the this problem, enforcement of the regulations on train yards not seeking to stay in line with the EPA mandate is almost logistically impossible. All the EPA can reasonably do is random inspections of idling locomotive engines in hopes of catching a polluter off-guard.
This same problem presents itself in several other venues as well. For example, trucking companies are subject to EPA regulations but truck engines may pollute differently depending on driving conditions (mountain roads, hot climates, high altitudes). So the trucking company may end up making expensive and unnecessary engine modifications in an attempt to satisfy EPA regulations. Conversely, the EPA has no effective way of monitoring emissions of truck engines while they are traveling from point A to point B. This same problem occurs with every other type of engine emission that the EPA seeks to regulate.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and apparatus for monitoring diesel engine emissions in real time and presenting emissions data to engine owners or government regulators. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.